Hello everyone! Duffle finally back with another chapter! It took me a little while to settle into my dorm room, but I think I've finally got the time to crank out another chapter. I've flirted with the idea of maybe doing some more short stories, but I think I'm gonna stick with this for now. However, if you guys want more stories like Battle Stance, make sure to leave a review to let me know and I'd be happy to do so! Anyways, enough chit chat. Let's get down to business!
Chapter 11: A Nice Break
As the Eevee Group exited the swampy waters, Sylveon shook around and tried to make herself dry, smiling whilst doing so. "Ugh, that swampy water was not good for my look, I'm glad to be out of there!" She brushed one of her ribbons back and gave a bright smile.
Jolteon just looked back and snickered. "Yeah, god forbid after all that happened to us in there that your looks are slightly dirtied. That's at the top of the list of our concerns." he said, somewhat sarcastically.
Noticing the sarcasm, Sylveon decided to give something back. "Well, at least my looks aren't at the bottom of the list, like you are."
An 'ooooooooh' could be heard from the other Eeveelutions as they kept walking.
"Gonna need a burn heal for that one," Flareon said, smirking as he kept walking next to Glaceon.
Jolteon blushed, but tried to remain somewhat composed. "Well, unlike you, I actually contribute to the fights we're in!"
Sylveon butted heads with Jolteon, "I contribute way more than you ever will!"
Jolteon pushed back, "You're too busy being a frilly girl to ever contribute!"
"Well you're too busy being a stuck up jerk! And don't you dare call me frilly!"
"Okay, then how about brat?!"
Their bickering kept going back and forth as Flareon just sighed, dropping his head down. "Those will honestly be fighting for the rest of their lives."
Glaceon frowned. "Yeah… It's kind of worrying. Do you think it's gonna get in the way of everyone else?"
Flareon shook his head. "Nah, I'm sure we'll be fine. I'm on this team, how could we lose?"
Glaceon just rolled her eyes. One thing she was starting to notice lately was that Flareon was getting sort of… cocky? He was confident in his fighting abilities, and while he certainly had the strength to back it up…. Sometimes… It was starting to get to the hubris point. To the point where it could potentially be his undoing.
"Yeah yeah, keep being the superhero buddy." Glaceon smiled back. I guess she couldn't complain. Now that he wasn't training that much, it gave her more time to spend with him, and that was nice. She'd start giving him lessons on Pokemon culture and adapting to the world and all that in exchange for stories of his past life. His life was really interesting, though she could tell he was avoiding some details… Might have to press him on those in the future.
Despite the fun that Flareon and Glaceon were having, Leafeon was the one who wasn't. The walks between areas were once the only time Glaceon and Leafeon had the time to chat, but now even that was taken up by Flareon. She couldn't blame her, really. She was just a young girl who really liked our "leader". But at the same time, it made her upset that she was left in the dust. Like, hello, I'm supposed to be helping you get with him, the least you could do is come back and talk for at least a minute!
But that wasn't even the worst of her problems. Like, sure, not being able to talk to her best friend sucks, but who she was replaced by was even worse.
"Hey there, Leafeon." Speak of the devil, here she comes. Leafeon thought. That voice was none other than Vaporeon. Of course, she wasn't as bad as before… In general. But the reason Vaporeon kept coming to Leafeon was to ask support about her love life. Which directly involved Flareon. For some reason.
"Hey yourself. Do you need something?
"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to do what I asked of you yesterday…" Vaporeon smirked a little bit.
"Girl, you're asking the wrong person. I don't know much about this guy and if I'm being honest, I most likely never will."
There was a glint in Vaporeon's eye. "Don't lie to me. I know exactly what you've been doing with Glaceon for all this time. Sneaking her into his time so she gets chances to talk to him."
Leafeon flinched, and Vaporeon smirked. So, it seems like I'm right.
"...If you know, then why are you coming to me to help you?"
"Because, I'm going to give you an offer. You stop helping Glaceon get with Flareon and start helping me. In exchange…" Vaporeon pointed over to Glaceon. "...You get your best friend back, without any issues. Do we have a deal?"
Leafeon bit her lip. She knew this would have horrible consequences if anyone found out about this. She wanted to support her best friend, of course, but… That feeling of loneliness was deeply rooted within her, and she really wanted her best friend to come back.
"...Deal. I'll help you get with Flareon."
Vaporeon smiled. "Awe, thanks a bunch. I really appreciate it. We can start brainstorming once we get to the next town. Ta ta!" Vaporeon waved her tail and walked a little away from Leafeon. Leafeon sneered.
I can't believe I'm doing this… Maybe I shouldn't do it, this seems like a bad idea. I could lose my friendship entirely. But I just wanna talk to her… Leafeon shook her head. No, I made my word, I'm going through with it. Maybe just for a short while. And besides, as long as they're no underhanded statements, Flareon will just choose on his own, and everything will be just fine.
Leafeon looked back and saw Umbreon and Espeon looking at each other, most likely talking about the past events through telepathy. Leafeon just sighed and kept walking.
As the group continued walking, Espeon decided to use her mouth to speak. "Everyone, we're going to be reaching a town nearby soon. I don't sense any Green Orb energy, so I think we should be safe to relax for a little bit."
Flareon balled his paw into a fist and pumped it. "Sweet! Oh man, I've been waiting to get a good rest for a while now, I can't wait!"
Jolteon and Sylveon, who had finally stopped their bickering, smiled at the thought.
"Ooh, I just can't wait to finally sleep in a bed for once…~"
Espeon perked up a little bit more and smiled. "Also, there seems to be a festival of some sort going on here, so I think we all may have lucked out."
The Eeveelutions all smiled at each other, the widest ones they've made in quite a while. However, those smiled quickly disappeared as they heard a voice from nearby.
"Hey hey hey, did you forget about us?" 4 squirtles with Bandanas dropped down and gave a thumbs up. "It's us, the Squirtle Bros, and we're back to steal those shards!"
Flareon face-palmed. "Dear Arceus, not these guys again…"
"Haha, that's right! We're back again and you better be scared!" Blue said.
Espeon sighed and picked them up with her telekinesis. "Ok, that's enough out of all of you."
"H-Hey! Let us go!" The 4 of them began to struggle a little bit.
Sylveon walked up to them. "Hey, why don't you all join us in going to the nearby town? I know deep down you're all good Pokemon, and it'll be a lot of fun! What d'you say?~"
The Squirtle Squad looked at each other before all nodding and being dropped to the ground. The quickly got up and stood up straight for Sylveon.
Sylveon just giggled and kept walking. "Alright then, we don't have any time to waste. Hop to it, it's almost night!" The Squirtles all saluted and started marching behind Sylveon.
Flareon just raised an eyebrow to Glaceon who shook her head. "Flareon, I honestly have no idea." Flareon shrugged and kept walking with the rest of them towards the town.
End of Chapter 11
Alright guys, sorry for the semi-short chapter, I wanted to get this one out so you guys have something to read while I scrape together other ideas. Anyways, if you guys have any questions, comments, or concerns, please leave a review as it always makes me happier to see a positive review and it motivates me to keep writing. On the other hand, a review with constructive criticism helps me improve and makes me better as a writer, so please consider doing that as well. Anyways, this is Duffle signing out, deuces!